Despite being a small facility located in rural Hampshire, ZEN Broadcast had been doing an awful lot of post production recently. Dubbing mixer Kevin Duff, who makes up one half of the company along with his fellow sound supervisor Andy Deacon, has been nominated for and won several BAFTA Craft Awards, most recently bagging an accolade for last year’s Festival of Remembrance. Here, Colby Ramsey discovers how Universal Audio systems have ultimately helped bring the pair success…

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Tell us about yourselves and the history of ZEN.

KD: I’ve been in broadcast sound since about 1987, originally starting at London Weekend Television as a sound trainee. Over the next ten years I was trained up and started moving into the freelance market, during which I got involved with BBC events, and primarily the Festival of Remembrance. Here I bumped into Andy who’s now been working on the festival for 28 years – He was the recording engineer for the Royal Marines Band Service. We worked on that event and a few other BBC events for a few years, and we soon found ourselves in a position where we wanted to form a company together. This is where ZEN Broadcast, which we’re now throwing all of our efforts into, was born.

A post production space was the next logical thing for ZEN and we soon moved into a brand new warehouse and office. Since then we’ve built two very nice mix rooms plus an Avid room that’s about to come online, with a recording space that became operational at the end of 2018. The Royal Variety, Black Eyed Peas’ music special, Olly Murs’ music special, and the last series of The Voice have all been posted here. My background is very much in light entertainment and music shows, whereas Andy’s background was recording military music, so client-wise that’s two of our biggest areas of expertise. We tend to get calls for multi-stage difficult jobs, with a high track count etc., and with our OB truck, we see ourselves continuing to work with big BBC events.

AD: The Royal Marines Band Service trained me both musically and as an engineer. Through that I’ve been fortunate enough to record many large events for them and for other organisations in the Royal Albert Hall, including large scale orchestral recordings with the likes of Ennio Morricone, Hans Zimmer etc.

The beauty of the truck is that we designed it with two mix spaces that are tuned and matched identically. We can have over a thousand inputs and it will allow one of us to mix the orchestra and the other to mix other elements of stage bands in the other room, with the ability to mix into each other and listen back through each other. We both utilise the exact same UAD mastering system, which Kev uses on all his shows with other engineers he works with.

What influenced your decision to switch over to UAD systems?

AD: I started working with Kev in broadcast through the BBC link, and around the same time was introduced to UAD systems. We both started using them within Pro Tools post production and audio CD production. Compared to our previous tools, UAD was far more comprehensive in terms of how it worked and how it integrated with the Pro Tools systems that I was using at the time. I also felt that its sonic quality was superior, and matched more of the analogue equipment that I had at the time.

Much of the outboard we had kept needing repairs, but going to the UAD stuff allowed us to use the same parameters and get the same sound. The workflow it’s allowed us to develop over the last eight or nine years has kind of created a signature sound that people look to us for.

KD: As a jobbing freelancer in 2013, I was looking for kit that would cross over between studio and post, so I came across the Precision Limiter, the plugin that first drew me towards UAD. My audience chain is quite specific and involves a few different limiters and compressors. Whereas this would usually be in a 12U or 14U rack, I replaced that with a 1U rack and some plugins. It’s easier to carry and transport, and with AES and analogue I/O I’ve got different types of accessibility in terms of the infrastructure I can use, depending on where I’m going. I then realised I could plug this into my Pro Tools rig as AAX plugins, which really is a no brainer.

You’re now using UAD Apollo 16 interfaces as the main limiters and FX engines for all your live shows, as well as a UAD Quad Satellite for Pro Tools sessions – What advantages have these brought to your workflow?

KD: When we’re doing something like The Voice, the live shows crossover with the post production element, so it means that quite often I’ll be on site in the truck mixing the show or getting ready for a live transmission with a post show going on at the same time.

We’ve developed portable dubbing rigs completely based around the power of UAD, keeping everything in the box and matching the plugins across all our systems. I am able to pull up a laptop, a UAD satellite and an extra screen so that I can keep dubbing while I’m on site or with the clients. This side of it has been massively powerful for us, allowing us to be really flexible in all sorts of situations and turn things around quicker. We’re using the same kit across all our dubbing rooms, post rooms and the truck, and it gives us that signature sound. It provides a streamlined workflow and cuts down the variables, while also lets us be much more creative. I haven’t done a show in the last six years without UAD by my side.

AD: I’ll use the Royal Albert Hall as an example – We had to go in there with a laptop, an RME MADIface XT, a couple of MADI routers, and the UAD rig. For an orchestra, it gave me three or four different reverbs to utilise within a 1U unit plus various other processing – It’s easy, speeds up the workflow and reduces our carbon footprint.

How have you seen the roles of post houses/live engineers evolve?

AD: What UAD has allowed us to do is give that 24 hour service to our clients in the sense that we can – with a laptop, thunderbolt hard drive, a UAD satellite and Apollo Twin – pull the exact same session up, edit what’s required, and re-upload where necessary at anytime of the day as long as we’ve got an internet connection, which is something that’s not been possible before.

KD: In the light entertainment world, I think the skill set has been lost in keeping supervisors that can mix and do post. It’s kind of a personal mission of mine to re-engage this aspect, especially at ZEN where we’re training new staff to do both. For big musical shows, being able to carry out mixing, post production and mastering for continuity and flexibility throughout the process is absolutely vital.

www.zenbroadcast.com

The post Q&A: ZEN Broadcast on using Universal Audio systems appeared first on Audio Media International.

Universal Audio has released UAD Software v9.8, featuring the V76 Preamplifier plug-in alongside Antares Auto-Tune Realtime Advanced and the Diezel Herbert Amplifier.

The V76 Preamplifier is arguably the most coveted standalone mic preamp ever made. Developed in the 1950s by the German Institute of Broadcast Technology (IRT), the V76’s distinctly "hi-fi" tube sound was integral to legendary studios across Europe from the 1950s through present day, including Decca, EMI, and Abbey Road.

The V76 Preamplifier Plug-In gives users the harmonically rich tube gain and classic frequency response of this iconic mic preamp in an easy-to-use emulation, exclusively for UA Audio Interfaces and UAD hardware.

The V76 Preamplifier also supports Universal Audio’s Unison technology, giving UA Audio Interface users the V76 preamp’s impedance, gain staging, and circuit behaviours. UAD hardware owners can also employ the V76 Preamplifier plug-in for mixing and tone shaping — without ever leaving the box.

Key Features:

• An authentic end-to-end circuit emulation of the V76 preamp exclusively for UAD hardware and UA Audio Interfaces
• 76 dB of clean gain to gently shape sounds and quickly dial in "mix-ready" tracks
• Models entire pentode tube and transformer circuit path, including preamp, output amplifier, nonlinearities, and clipping
• Unison technology for UA Audio Interfaces offers authentic tone, touch, and feel of the classic V76 preamp, including precise impedance matching

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Universal Audio has announced the opening of its new UA Custom Shop, located in Santa Cruz, California.

The UA Custom Shop is dedicated to building "small batch," handmade analogue hardware, including the 610 Tube Channel Strip, and compressors like the Teletronix LA-2A Leveling Amplifier and 1176LN Limiting Amplifier.

"UA has come full circle with our new Custom Shop," said Universal Audio CEO and founder, Bill Putnam Jr. "Its location on Delaware Avenue in Santa Cruz is just a few miles away from the garage where we re-founded UA over 20 years ago.

“We’re looking forward to having this new modern space to build the classic analogue hardware that’s an essential part of our heritage, one unit at a time, as well as dreaming up future classics."

In addition to building analogue recording hardware, the UA Custom Shop is also home to a new video production facility, and houses a state-of the-art service center for UA products.

The UA Headquarters, which houses administration, finance, sales, marketing, and engineering groups, remains located in Scotts Valley, California.

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The traveling music maker has never had it so good, powerful laptops and interfaces have allowed making music on the move so much easier. But how mobile can your recording rig be, especially when it comes to needing a power source? 

The new UA Arrow interface gives you the opportunity to set up and record anywhere with the help of DSP powered plugins, of which 14 plugins are included with the Arrow. These emulate classic hardware in near zero latency. You can literally plug in a guitar, insert a Marshall amp and start to play…

DESIGN

The UA Arrow is approximately 5”x7”x 2” – it’s small but has a nice weight to it (1.38 lbs),cast into a solid Aluminium desktop design with an intuitive control arrangement. The I/O is well placed and makes cables simple to patch in without being messy. 

The rear has two I/O via XLR/1/4” dual connectors, two monitor outputs via 1/4 balanced jack, and the thunderbolt connection, while the front includes a headphone out and a Hi- impedance instrument input. 

On the main surface is a LED meter display with dedicated toggle switches for Input selection, 48v, hi-pass filter, -20dB pad, stereo link and a phase reverse, all of which have a status indicator on the five segment bar graph display. 

The main large knob is a multifunction controller surrounded by an LED segmented gain/volume display which operates in two modes, Preamp or Monitor, each mode having a dedicated switch, this enables control of Preamp parameters via a clever Gain Stage Mode in the Console software or to adjust the monitor volume/mute. 

IN USE 

Installation was simple but you must ensure you have a Thunderbolt cable and not USB-C. Unfortunately this cable is not included. The UA software is split into two, a DSP meter display which includes access to the plugin library registration/activation and a comprehensive “Console” mixer software that sits in between the Arrow device and your DAW. 

Changes made on the Arrow are reflected within the Console software, enabling quick setups that can be saved and recalled for sessions. For example, a setup to monitor or record a session for live guitar and a vocal mic with some real time plugin effects. 

The Console incorporates a wealth of mixing options including the normal inputs, sends and return auxiliaries busses, but with extras like I/O matrix routing to a talkback section. Despite it being feature rich the mixer is easy to use, intuitively laid out and has some nice add on’s like the ability to have additional mixer windows open so you can customise your views. 

However, you don’t have to use Console, the Arrow will operate like a third party audio interface within your DAW, the magic that the Console software gives you when recording is realtime processing, not only do you gain access to normal plugin slots but the UA technology “Unison” preamps. 

These are somewhat of an industry first, special preamp plugins designed to change the hardware input impedance and non-linearities of classic hardware be it a preamp, a channel strip desk or guitar amp. Setting up a recording with the Arrow was simplicity itself, however it has to be emphasised you must have a Thunderbolt 3 computer and a Thunderbolt cable. 

I used a 2017 MacBook Pro and headed out to record a guitar and voice track in a remote location – a beach hut! Using one of the 14 included UAD plugins, the UA 610 B preamp, for some warm coloration, I setup a phantom powered condenser mic for a singer and a DI’d semi acoustic guitar into the instrument input, added a little EQ and UA EMT 140 reverb for some monitoring atmosphere and used the backdrop of the beach for the vibe. Undoubtably a unique recording session and only possible with the mobility of the UA Arrow, the latency was not discernible and the quality of the recording was excellent.

CONCLUSION 

The delight of not being tied to a power source can’t be under stated, even though it might drain your laptop battery pretty quickly, the UA Arrow interface opens a world of opportunistic recording possibilities. 

The Arrow is well designed, easy to use and has a “pro” feel to the unit, especially with UA’s Unison mic amps adding the optional tracking coloration. Some may ask whats the big deal, ask any engineer worth their salt about great recordings and they may well reply get a great mic and a great mic/pre the two go hand in hand. Lovely analogue saturation from an API desk or sublime overloading of a Neve mic-pre. 

These are the markings of great recordings, now imagine you can take this gear where there is no power source, in the middle of a park, an old church, an acoustic stairwell, an impromptu jam session is suddenly a recording opportunity. 

The performance of the inbuilt UA-2 Solo core DSP isn’t huge but enough for a mobile recording with extremely low latency, and a bit of help to your CPU when your’e mixing. With the bundled 14 plugins the Arrow offers an excellent solution to the mobile producer/musician or as a starter audio interface to the home-based music maker.

The post Review: Universal Audio Arrow appeared first on Audio Media International.

Universal Audio has launched the UAD-2 Live Rack for live sound engineers.

UAD-2 Live Rack is a 16-channel MADI effects processor, allowing users to apply Realtime UAD Processing with MADI-enabled digital consoles. UAD-2 Live Rack provides a hardware and software system for integrating the entire library of UAD Powered Plug-Ins into a live sound environment — all at near-zero latency.

Users can combine up to four Live Rack units to process up to 64 MADI channels. Each UAD-2 Live Rack hardware unit features four UAD-2 DSP SHARC processors for running UAD plug-ins at sub-2 milliseconds latency.

With the included Live Rack application, front-of-house engineers can take advantage of intuitive features such as drag and drop, copy and paste, keyboard navigation, plug-in zoom, and the ability to store and recall channel strip presets and/or complete setup configuration snapshots.

Live sound engineers can choose between Core and Ultimate plug-in bundles for their UAD-2 Live Rack, both of which include the UAD Antares Auto-Tune Realtime plug-in, enabling low latency pitch correction during live performance.

UAD-2 Live Rack Core includes a generous suite of UAD plug-ins right out of the box, including the Teletronix LA-2A and 1176LN compressors, Pultec EQs, among others. UAD-2 Live Rack Ultimate includes over 90 UAD plug-ins, with exclusive titles from SSL, Studer, Neve, Manley, Lexicon, API, Fender, Moog, and many more.

UAD-2 Live Rack is now shipping worldwide with an RRP of $2,999 (£2,292.68) for the UAD-2 Live Rack Core bundle, and $5,999 (£4,586.12) for the UAD-2 Live Rack Ultimate bundle.

UAD-2 Live Rack — Key Features:

• 16-channel MADI effects processor with Realtime UAD Processing
• UAD-2 QUAD DSP processor allows access to full library of UAD Powered Plug-Ins at near-zero latency
• Combine up to four UAD-2 Live Rack units to process 64 MADI channels
• Includes purpose-built UAD-2 Live Rack application for fast operation of Realtime UAD Processing and session snapshot management
• Includes studio compressors, EQs, channel strips, pitch correction emulations, and more as part of either the Core or Ultimate plug-in bundles
• Dual-redundant internal power supplies ensure audio processing will continue if one power supply fails

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Universal Audio has introduced the Neve Preamp plug-in – giving users the legendary Neve mic preamplifier sound in a simple two-knob plug-in that’s perfect for UA Audio Interface owners.

The pinnacle of Neve preamp design is the classic 1073 module with EQ, but Neve also briefly produced the 1290 module — a rare, preamp-only version of the 1073.

The Neve Preamp plug-in combines sonic attributes and features of both the 1073 and 1290 designs and provides all the features, bandwidth, and attitude of Rupert Neve’s original hardware design, as heard on countless classic recordings.

Neve Preamp Plug-In Key Features:An authentic end-to-end circuit emulation of the legendary class-A, Neve mic preamp, exclusively for UAD hardware and UA Audio Interfaces.

Combines sonic attributes and features of both the coveted 1073 and 1290 designs.

Thoroughly modeled dual-stage "Red Knob" preamp and output amplifier.

Unison technology for UA Audio Interfaces offers authentic tone, touch, and feel of the classic Neve preamp, including precise impedance matching.

Lower DSP usage for plug-in instances across multiple channels.

Listen to the preamp here.

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